Zagato is an Italian design house widely known for its collaboration on the most beautiful and eye-catching creations in automotive history. And when you work with a brand like Alfa Romeo, the result never disappoints.
This is the case with the new Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato, a coupé of which a single unit has been specifically manufactured for a German client, but which lets us see the design potential of Zagato and how malleable the Giulia platform is.
The creation of a work of art
Zagato says that the project was born to celebrate its 100 years of collaboration with Alfa Romeo, the current generation of Giulia and the V6 engine. The first thing he did was shorten the platform, leaving a shorter wheelbase and consequently, more fun behavior.
Then, for its design, Zagato borrowed some aesthetic issues from other models of the brand, something that can be seen on the front in the Tonale’s own LED optics. Looking at the coupe from the side, we can see that its profile is characterized by a long hood, short rear end and unpainted carbon fiber double bubble roof panel. The rear is finished off with a slim, curved light bar and a large air diffuser.
The special body design was carried out by Zagato with the support of Alejandro Mesonero, director of the Centro Stile Alfa Romeo, and his team of designers. However, all development and production work was carried out entirely by the Zagato without Alfa Romeo involvement. For this reason, Zagato mentions that the Alfa Romeo badging on the car is “for descriptive and promotional purposes only and Zagato’s choice to take inspiration from the Alfa Romeo SZ.”
The mechanics of emotion
Beneath its carbon fiber panels, the Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagato is powered by a evolution of the 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 engine fitted to the Giulia Quadrifoglio which has been updated to GTAm specs. Performance figures were not released, but the six-cylinder GTAm is working to develop 540 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque.
For purists there is very good news. All the power of this V6 reaches the rear axle through a six-speed manual transmission. This is the something that the GTAm does not have, since although it is a limited edition, it is offered exclusively with an eight-speed automatic transmission.
From inside
Inside we can see that the cabin is practically the same as that of the Giuliasince we have the same steering wheel, touch screen, air vents and climate control interface in the same locations, but in this case green accents and several model-specific carbon fiber trim pieces are present.
But what differs most from the Giulia is that in this case we are talking about a coupe and not a sedan, so inside we only have two seats.
The Italian design house did not reveal the cost of this unique Alfa Romeo Giulia SWB Zagatoalthough considering all the work and exclusivity that it has on top, surely the price was quite high.
